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Apple admits some iPod touch players shipped with faulty screens

Apple this week confirmed reports that some of its new iPod touch players left its manufacturing facilities with defective screens and said the company is actively working to remedy the issue.

Several iPod touch customers have reported that their 16GB players exhibit an issue where playback of dark video scenes is almost unwatchable, and have further suggested that Apple may have equipped the new players with screens that are inferior in quality to those used in the iPhone.

"[S]some early iPod Touch units have had defective screens, where images appeared too dark," the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg revealed in his own review of the player published Thursday. "Apple says this problem affected a small number of units and is being remedied."

Like AppleInsider's review unit, which appears to be one of the unaffected units, Mossberg said his two iPod touch test units "displayed beautiful images." He did, however, take issue with the player's battery life, which failed to meet Apple's claims in his own tests.


Watch Mossberg's 7-minute iPod touch video review

It's presently unclear how widespread the iPod touch display issue may be or what remedial action Apple will offer to customers who own affected units. Such information will be published once it becomes available.